Emotional Response
by Razell
Summary: The new Consort of the Borg Queen seeks vengeance for the decimation of his homeworld.


Emotional Response

This was not what he had wanted. He did not like causing pain, causing death. But they had brought it upon themselves. Silver, square irises in deep black eyes scrutinized the ball of molten rock below. The planet beneath him seethed red, a sea of lava, lava like the blood of his former race its inhabitants had shed. Ships exploded around his Cone-shaped vessel as the Tactical Cubes, (He had brought seven Class 4's),swatted the puny vessels of Species 157 out of the sky. It was a futile endeavor on their part. Their masters were dead, and revenge was beyond their power, but fighting was what they had been bred for, cloned to fight and die for the benefit of Species 162.

She-Who-Is-All chided him for his actions, She had sought to add their biological distinctiveness to Her Perfection, but She understood. He was young, and new to the Collective, still governed by petty emotions, and vengeance was among the most powerful of these.

He felt a cold tugging in his soul, remorse wringing itself free, questioning what he had done. He had committed genocide. _Twice_. Without Species 162, Species 157, leaderless and lost, would die as well. He estimated that they would last about three months, with Species 162 destroyed and Species 158 assimilated, they would be unable to get the drug they needed to survive. The guilt quickly gave way to pragmatism, a lot of damage could be done in three months. They would have to be sought out and destroyed, or assimilated, as quickly as possible. He diverted thirty-seven Borg vessels into the Gamma Quadrant with a thought.

As he watched the burning world he wondered why he sought revenge, he had hated the race of his birth. He was no longer a member of Species 2000, he was Borg. But the Dominion War and the deaths of _eight hundred million_ civilians of his species had sparked something within him...

Why?

Cardassia had given him nothing but suffering and cruelty, twelve years of cold, hungry nights, a frightened child abandoned to the mean streets by a heartless race who viewed orphans as little more than vermin. He had seen other orphans starving, beaten or worse, watched several die from easily cured diseases that no one cared enough to treat. They only turned their attention upon him when more manpower was needed in the war, The State that had abandoned him as a child now forced him to fight in their behalf. No, he hated Cardassia, to him, it was hell. His existence was one of loneliness and torment.

And then he found Salvation.

Or, rather, Salvation had found him.

When the ship upon which he was conscripted was captured by the Borg, the others panicked, resisted. They couldn't understand. But he did. He would never be alone again, never cold and afraid and starving. He had welcomed his Ascendance, and She had found that intriguing. She offered him The Gift, and he had embraced it.

She was Queen, and he was Her Consort.

With the Borg he had a family, a family greater than any other. A family that would never leave him. She was the mother he barely remembered, the Borg his brothers and sisters. From the day that he had been assimilated, he had fully intended to bring Species 2000 into the state of perfection that he had found. No more pain, suffering, cruelty, abuse... No more loneliness. No child would suffer again, he would save them all.

They would be a family.

But The Dominion War had ruined everything. It surprised him that Species 2000, a race renowned for its intelligence and cunning, had so foolishly tried to manipulate Species 162.

It was a costly mistake indeed, when the betrayal came the repercussions were swift and terrible, wholesale genocide... Now they needed Salvation even more badly. Now more children were suffering than at any other point in their species' history. He had to act.

He had to save Cardassia from itself.

His reaction to the massacre had been irrational, emotional and counter-productive, a waste of biological materials and life experience that could have added greatly to The Collective's Perfection. It was also a waste of time, time he could have used to enlighten Species 2000.

But it _did_ make him feel a little better...

Why do so much for a culture he despised?

It wasn't for Cardassia at all, he realized. It was for the children starving in the streets, suffering as he had suffered. The Cardassian Union could go to Hell for all he cared, (arguably it had), with their politics, their hypocritical manners, their back-stabbing and their cruel hearts. He would save the children, and, perhaps, save himself.

It was a purely emotional response.

More of Species 157's vessels appeared to bolster the thinning ranks of their brethren. He sensed that Cube 2935 was taking heavy damage, a suicide run had taken out Grid 12, a primary weapons system, and the enemy was focusing on that weak point. The vessel's structural integrity was compromised, and 384 drones were already dead. He ordered the Cube to jump to Transwarp, he had no desire to waste more resources and lives. He still had enough compassion left to protect his drones from needless destruction. She thought him sentimental, and assured him it would pass, but he wasn't sure he wanted it to. It added new concepts to the Collective.

New perspectives.

Species 162's home world was now sterilized. There were, by The Collective's best estimate, less than fifty of the shape-shifters left in the universe. One in particular, the female who had ordered the slaughter... No, he would not kill _her_. He would let her live with the knowledge that her crimes had led to the extinction of her race...

He smiled grimly, then frowned. A terrible fear shook him to the core... Did Species 162 have children? Had he just murdered innocent ch-...

The thought was quickly supressed, replaced by Her soothing voice.

This was not his main purpose.

The Cardassian Union had fallen, The Romulan Star Empire and The Dominion had both been destroyed, the Federation was weakened by the war. Even the proud Klingon Empire had been humbled... She-Who-Is-All had great plans to expand The Collective, but he was concerned with only one thing.

The Cone and two Cubes left the battle, and set course for Cardassia Prime.

_The End_

_Notes_:

I feel that the Borg Queen should have chosen a Cardassian as her consort, they are stereotypically intelligent, ruthless, efficient perfectionists. A Cardassian would make an excellent Borg. Instead She seemed obsessed by humanity, (And a certain human-made android), and was rejected and defeated each time.

Like most of my characters,The Consort is somewhat morally ambiguous, he's a little mad, had a traumatic childhood, and honestly believes that everything he does as a Borg is truly helping others, (Except in this case, where he believes he's delivering justice.). He's basically well-intentioned, (if misguided), but in reality little more than a puppet, manipulated and controlled by the Queen. He's actually somewhat pitiful, though I'm not sure it comes across well in this story. He's weak and starved for affection, and She's exploiting that to the max. I see The Queen wanting companionship, but _not_ a true equal who could challenge her or try to seize The Collective for himself. He only has the power She gives him, and She can take it away at any time. It would be interesting to explore his reactions to The Queen's death and the destruction of Unimatrix One, trying to maintain order as the Collective is falling apart around him. If anyone wants to write that story, feel free.

He has square irises because he has artificial eyes. He has both eyes visible, lacking the Ocular Implant that covers one of most Borg's eyes.

_Taran Dibari_

Borg Consort

Designation- Exarch of Unimatrix One

Biological Distinctiveness- Species 2000 (Cardassian)

Task- Companion of the Queen. Provide new ideas and experiences to the Collective. Interact with non-Borg species on behalf of the Collective. Repair damaged drones and surgically prepare new species for assimilation.

Significant Enhancements- Right arm replaced by Medical Servo-armature equiped with various surgical and bio-mechanical repair devices, interchangeable with telescopic humanoid arm. Advanced neural implants to allow absorbtion of massive amounts of data. Artificial eyes allowing multi-dimensional visual acuity.

Profile- Embittered orphan seeking to assimilate Species 2000 to prevent the further suffering of his fellow orphans. To assimilate all sentient species and thereby bring order, harmony, and perfection to the universe. Emotional and impulsive, but always polite and diplomatic when interacting with others, even during assimilation. Exceptionally intelligent. Skilled Medical Repair Drone. Longs for emotional acceptance and sense of belonging. Easily manipulated.

The Borg Cone is a... _Cone_. It has an exterior structure winding around it, much like the grooves on a screw. It is a unique vessel.

Orphans have no status or rights in traditional Cardassian society, and are left on the streets to fend for themselves.

The Romulan Star Empire was destroyed when a supernova destroyed Romulus.

If the dates of events conflict, such as the destruction of Romulus occuring so soon after the Dominion War, it's unintentional, and, well, it's just a fan story...

I made up most of the designation numbers at random, the Founders have a higher number because the Borg would almost certainly have encountered their agents before meeting them. I found the Cardassian's designation at the Memory Alpha Star Trek wiki.

Species 157- Jem'Hadar

Species 158- Vorta

Species 162- Changeling

Species 2000- Cardassian (Canon)

Everything except The Consort and The Borg Cone belong to Paramount.


End file.
